Wildcats drop series to No. 8 UC San Diego

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On Sunday against UC San Diego Dustin Miller (25) had an RBI triple in the first inning. Image Courtesy: Sports Information

The Wildcats lose the series against No. 8 UC San Diego after the Tritons bats woke up in the second half of the series.

After the Wildcats shutout UC San Diego for 15 innings, the Tritons outscored the Wildcats 16-2 in the final two games of the series.

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Sid Lacy (one inning) did not allow a runner in game two of the series against UC San Diego. Chico State pitching gave up 23 runs overall in four games.
Image Courtesy: Sports Information

Saturday’s game two

The Tritons shutout the Wildcats just like the Wildcats did to the Tritons in the first half of the series as UC San Diego won the second game of the doubleheader 5-0 after seven innings.

Chico State’s starting pitcher Grant Larson suffered his first loss of the season in his six innings of work.

While collecting the loss, Larson allowed five runs, four which were earned runs. Larson gave up six hits and struck out four Triton batters in six innings.

Larson gave up a home run in the first inning that scored three runners. Up until the sixth inning, Larson shut down UC San Diego but the Tritons scored one in the sixth inning off a triple and another off a sacrifice fly.

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Chico Wildcats against Simpson University baseball game at Nettleton Stadium on Friday, February 8, 2019 in Chico, Calif.
Image Courtesy: Sports Information

On the offensive side for the Wildcats, there was not much there. The Wildcats only collected four hits without a runner reaching third base.

The Tritons lead the series 2-1 after Saturday’s doubleheader sweep against the Wildcats.

Sunday’s game

Chico State lost the last game of the series 11-2 against UC San Diego on Sunday afternoon as they continued to issue walks to the Tritons.

The Wildcats only two runs in the second half of the series came in the first inning when a Dustin Miller triple scored JT Navarro and Alex DeVito’s double scored Miller.

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On Sunday against UC San Diego Dustin Miller (25) had an RBI triple in the first inning.
Image Courtesy: Sports Information

The rest of the game belonged to the Tritons as the Wildcats could not contain UC San Diego’s bats.

The Tritons scored a total of nine runs in the second and third innings, and that was all they needed on Sunday afternoon.

The Wildcats pitching issued a total of six walks to the Tritons, the most coming in the second inning when the Wildcats walked four and hit two Triton batters. The Tritons got only two hits in the second inning but scored six runs.

The Wildcats were shutout in the final eight innings of the series as they collected a total of nine hits but only managed to score two runs throughout the game.

DeVito was 3-4 on the day with a double, RBI, and two singles.

The Wildcats will take on Cal State San Marcos at Nettleton Stadium on Friday, April 5.

Brandon Downs can be reached at [email protected] or @downsbrandon2 on Twitter.